Fuel converter



Juy 15, 1924. I

W. A. EDWARDS FUEL CONVERTER Filed Jan. 15,

' l l l I/WE/vm/Q www@ www FUEL VI W Application died January M, 1922. Serial No. 529,.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. EDWARDS,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and' useful Improvements in Fuel Converters, of

which the following is a specication.

This invention has reference in general to the conversion of a liquid fuel into a'combustible mixture, and while capable of employment in connection with various apparatuses in which liquid'fuel is used, it is shown i herein for purposes of illustration as applied to an internal combustion engine.

One of the primary purposes of my present invention is to provide al device which will break up and atomize the liquid particles flowing through the fuel passage, and particularly the heavier and less volatile ends of thevfuel, which are not completely atomized or vaporized by the action of the carbureter, and also those fuel endsl which tend to condense and collect in globular form in the 'fuel passage as the mixture is traveling therethrough.

For the standing o my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings one preferred embodiment thereof from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, my invention and man of its inherent advantages .should be readlly understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings- Fig. 1 is afragmentary view of a gas engine equipped w1th my 1nvent1on;

Fig. 2 1s a perspectlve view of a structure embodying my invention; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view-on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referrin to the drawings more in detail, reference c aracter -5 indicates generally an engine block of any preferred construction, usually formed to. provide the water yjacket '6 surrounding the`cylinder 7, and having a 1s combustion chamber 8 to which the fue supplied through a passage 9, the low of fuel being controlled by the intakevalve 11 in the usual manner.

The fuel mixture is supplied to the engine through a supply passage 12, formed customarily 1n the intake manifold 13, which mayy be of any approved construction.

My invention is designed to be interposed in the fuel passage between the carbureter purpose of facilitating an under cylinder in their non-volatile and non-com- .in this passa it is preferably disposed close to the cy inder, and, in the present instance,'is illustrated as located at the juncture between the manifold and the engine block.

My invention, as herein illustrated, com# prises a tubular member indicated generally by reference character 14 adapted to be inserted and located in the fuel passage, and as shown, is of cylindricalzform adapted to snugly fit within the fuel passage, and it is provided adjacent its intake end with an annular rib or flange `15 adapted to fit in the groove 16 .customarily formed at the 'uncture of the manifold and the engine lock to receive the usual packing sleeve. The tube has a bore which is frusto-'conical in shape, the smaller or intake end being disposed toward the carbureter and the larger or delivery end being disposed toward vthe cylinder. It will be observed that by reason of the increasing thickness of the walls of the tube from the deliver to the intake end thereof, there is provide atthe intake end and surrounding the bore a substantially flat face formed by the end wall of the tube which is disposed transversely with respect tothe longitudinal axis of the tube.

Those heavier ends of the fuel mixture. which, by reason of the fact that the speed of theA mixture adjacent the walls lis slower than'the speed in the center of the stream of the flowing mixture, tend to accumulate upon and adjacent the passage walls, impinge against the face 17 disposed across their path and are thereby lprevented from flowing or being carried directly into the bustible condition. The air and lighter portions of the mixture will be drawn directly through the tube, and by reason of the reduced cross-sectional area of the intake end of the tube with respect to the cross-sec- 100' tional area of the passage itself, the speed of p the air and mixture will -be materially increased at this point, thereby serving to further break u and volatilize those liquid particles carried such of the heavier particles as may be wi ed olf of the inner margin of the wall or ace 17 by the inrushing mixture. The greater portion, however, of the condensed li uid particles accumulated on the wall -17 wil by lm in the mixture and also los i capillary action and gravity flow t'o the lower edge of said wall, from whence they are discharged or delivered through a duct 18 into the throat of the tube, where by reason ofthe reduced pressure and the higher velocity of the mixture flowing through the tube, these liquid particles are thoroughly broken up and dissipated into the mixture so that they are delivered to the cylinder in combustible condition,

Any extremel heavy ends of the liquids which may notv e broken up and thoroughly atomized upon their issuance into the tubefrom the duct 18, and which may fall by gravity inthe passage 9, or be intercepted by and caused to condense upon the inner verticall wall of said passage, will flow to the lowest point of this passage, which is at the delivery end of the tube 14. A duct 19 establishes communication between this oint of collection in the passage 9 and t e restricted portion of the tube 14, and these accumulated liquids will be drawn, by reason of the differential of pressures between the intake and delivery ends of this duct, through` the duct, and again delivered into the restricted and low pressure area of the tube, where they are again subjected to the vaporizing and atomizing action of the flowin mixture.

By this construction, therefore, the heavy less volatile liquid portions of the fuel may be repeatedly subjected to a vaporizing and atomizing action, thereby insuring .that they Will be thoroughly broken up and delivered to the cylinders in combustive condition. Those heavier liquid particles traveling through the mixture passage are first impinged against the face 17 and are then delivered from their point of accumulation into the restricted ortion of the tube wherel they are finally bro en up and carried along by the rapidly flowing mixture..

It will be apparent from the foregoing that l have provided a device which is adapted to convert the unvaporized liquid portions of a fuel mixture into a substantialiy homogeneous mixture capable of rapid and eiective combustion which will result in av high eiliciency of the engine and a diminution of carbon in the cylinders.

While l have shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, the details thereof are obviously capable of conn siderable modification within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim: j

`1. The combination with a fuel supply passage, of a tube disposed therein, the exterior of said tube being shaped to fit the walls of said passage, and the bore of said tube being of frusto-conical shape, the smaller end thereof being opposed to the flow through said passage, said tube being provided with a duct leading from the passage at the exterior of .the tube, to lthe interior of the tube near the smaller end thereof.

2. The combination with an intake pas.

sage of a gas engine, of a tube disposed therein having a bore of frusto-conical shape, the end of the tube surrounding the smaller end of the bore resenting a flat face extending from the ore to the surrounding walls of the passa e, said tube being provided with a duct eading from said face to the bore of the tube adjacent the smaller end thereof.

3. A fuel converter, comprising a tube adapted to bekdis osed in a fuel supply passage, the bore o said tube beingtapered from end to endthe minimum cross-section being at the intake end of the tube, the end Walls of said tube at the intake end thereof being disposed substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the tube, and a.

duct establishing communication between v the exterior and the interior of said tube at the intake vend thereof.

4. A' fuel converter, comprising a tube adapted to be disposed in the intake possage of a gas engine and provided with a bore of increasing diameter v from. the intake to the delivery end thereof, the walls of said tube presenting around the intake end of the bore a substantiall flat face disposed in the path of the mixture flowing through the passage, and a duct leading from said face to the interior of the tube adjacent the smaller end of the bore.

5. A fuel converter, comprising a tube adapted to be positioned in the intake passage of a gas engine and provided with a bore tapered from the delivery to the intake end thereof, the smaller end of the bore being surrounded by an annular face 0ppose'd to the flow of mixture throu h said passage, said tube being provided wit ducts leadin from the exterlor of the tube at the ends tnereofto the interior of the tube adjacent t-he smaller end of the bore.

WILLIAM A. EDWARDS. 

